On July 16, Caesars Entertainment Corporation broke ground on its newest development: the CAESARS FORUM Las Vegas conference center. Slated to open in 2020, it will feature 550,000 square feet of flexible meeting, event and convention space.

As the emcee for the ground-breaking ceremony, Roger Dow, president and CEO of U.S. Travel Association and long-time meetings industry veteran, spoke about how when he was first starting in the industry, the meetings market was an afterthought for Las Vegas. Forty years later, the city is now the leading destination for meetings within the U.S.

Although there is already a large number of meeting and convention spaces in Las Vegas, the Caesars Entertainment team said they believe there is room for more — and that CAESARS FORUM has some key differentiators that will put it at the head of the list for large events.

The venue will feature the two largest pillarless ballrooms in the world at 110,000 sq. ft. apiece; two 40,000 sq. ft. ballrooms, more than 100 breakout rooms and FORUM Plaza, which will be the first 100,000 sq. ft. dedicated outdoor meeting and event space in Las Vegas. All ballrooms will be divisible into sections so planners will have a multitude of configuration options.

The single-level property will easily be able to host groups of 10,000 or more attendees and with two easily accessible loading docks, items of almost any size.

The venue has been designed with the customer in mind, with an infrastructure that will support catering and convention services as well as advances in technology. Sustainability was also an important factor in design: CAESARS FORUM has already been awarded LEED Silver certification.

During the ceremony, Mark Frissora, president and CEO of Caesars Entertainment, talked about the importance of meetings and events and the organization’s commitment to the industry.

“This business enables organizations small and large, for profit and not for profit, public and private sector, to bring together employees, members and other stakeholders to help realize their most important objectives,” said Frissora.

It’s an industry in which the brand is already a known leader, with 2.1 million sq. ft. of meeting space at 40 properties across the U.S. More than 17,000 meetings and events are hosted annually at Caesars Entertainment properties, with more than 1.9 million participants nationwide.

And yet, there is still plenty of room for growth. Last month, the company broke ground on a new conference center at Harrah's Cherokee in Cherokee, North Carolina, while in the spring, Caesars announced plans to bring the brand to two hotels in Dubai and to the Puerto Los Cabos region in Mexico.

At the CAESARS FORUM ground-breaking ceremony, a new 360-degree “fly-through” video was unveiled that showed the impressive vision for the property and what the guest experience will look like.

“In the center of the Las Vegas Strip with direct access to three of our premier resorts and freshly redesigned hotel rooms, CAESARS FORUM builds on our strategy to invest in infrastructure that enhances long-term value for our guests," Frissora said.

CAESARS FORUM will be located on the famous Las Vegas Strip, adjacent to the LINQ Promenade retail district. The conference center will be connected by skybridge to Harrah’s Las Vegas and The LINQ Hotel and Casino, and by pedestrian bridge to the Flamingo Las Vegas, for a total of 5,000 Caesars Entertainment hotel rooms. An additional 15,000 hotel rooms owned by Caesars are within walking distance.

The venue has already contracted $70 million in business, according to Michael Massari, chief sales officer for Caesars Entertainment, with more in the pipeline.

The property is also expected to help the local economy, bringing even more tourism to the city which in turn will open up more job opportunities. The conference center will create 1,000 local construction jobs and more than 450 permanent jobs once it opens, according to Caesars officials.

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